BERKSHIRE
PERSONS
CONVICTED 3
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 6
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Clare Crowther
Defendants:
Female 41, behaviour support
manager; male 19, unemployed
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
and s9
Pleas:
Guilty
Total convictions:
Five
Sentence:
Both disqualified from keeping
animals that are ordinarily
confined to a cage, hutch,
tank or vivarium for five years.
Female received 100 hours'
unpaid work; £390 costs. Male
received 28 days' imprisonment.
Prosecuted by:
ABV Solicitors
BerkshireA sick, injured white domestic rat, called Lola, was
abandoned in woodland after her owners decided
they no longer wanted her.
Witnesses saw a young man carry
a large animal cage into the woods
then leave without it. They found
Lola sitting near her cage, clearly in
a poor state of health. They called
the RSPCA and Animal Welfare
Officer Sian Bowden took Lola to
a nearby vet.
Lola was noticeably underweight.
Her teeth were overly long - one
had curled back into her mouth
and caused a deep lesion in her
inner cheek. She had a large
abdominal growth and extensive
fur loss. There were also two deep
wounds, one under her chin where
the underlying bone was visible. An
independent vet concluded Lola
had suffered for at least two weeks
due to lack of treatment.
When interviewed, the mother
admitted she was aware of Lola's fur
loss, chin wound and growth but
said she could not afford a vet, Lola
not being her priority. The son did
not accept he had failed to meet
Lola's needs by abandoning her,
saying: "Why would I pay money
for a rat…? It's just a rat…" Neither
defendant showed any remorse.
BEDFORDSHIRE
PERSONS
CONVICTED 6
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 12
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector
Stephanie Law
Defendant:
Male 16, unemployed
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Pleas:
Guilty
Total convictions:
Two
Sentence:
Disqualified from keeping
animals for life; 18-month
Youth Rehabilitation order;
three-month curfew order.
Prosecuted by:
J-P-Law Solicitors
BedfordshireShocking footage of a teenager attacking a cat and
a dog was discovered on the boy's mobile phone
when he was arrested for unrelated offences.
The boy was recorded holding
down a terrified white
Staffordshire bull terrier, called
Tyler, before punching him 36
times in the chest and abdomen,
then kicking him in the face. Tyler
can be heard yelping and crying.
Further footage was found of the
boy kicking a tortoiseshell-andwhite
cat forcefully in the pelvis.
The cat is heard to scream and
is thrown in the air by the force
of the blow. A vet said the cat
would have suffered bruising and
possibly pelvic fracture, nerve
damage and bladder trauma.
The attacks seem to have
been carried out as a form of
entertainment, as the film of
the cat being attacked was
named 'LOL' (short for 'Laugh
Out Loud').
The video footage was played
during interview and the boy
showed no emotion.
RSPCA Inspector Stephanie
Law called the attacks "utterly
abhorrent", saying: "I have seen
a lot of terrible things in my job,
but I felt physically ill watching
this footage. What makes it
worse is that he seems to
have seen it as some form
of entertainment."
Unfortunately, Lola had to be
euthanased on veterinary advice.
6 PROSECUTIONS
Annual report OUR FRONTLINE WORK
2014